1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to nutritional supplements and in particular to nutritional supplements for use under physiologically stressful conditions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Physiological responses to stressful conditions are generally the same; only the intensity of the response and whether or not any given response will be evoked are individual in nature. Acute stressful situations, such as resulting from a trauma, produce a physiological response, after which the body returns to its normal, un-stressful state. When the body enters a stressful situation, the sympathetic nervous system invokes a fight or flight response. Once the stressful stimuli have been removed, the parasympathetic nervous system returns the body to a normal state.
Chronic stressful conditions, caused by for example a divorce, an unpleasant boss, lack of money, or building a new home, are more insidious. The physiological response endures and the body fails to return to the baseline state. Being in a continuous state of stress, an individual will feel unwell, partly because the mechanisms that ordinarily help overcome stress have become exhausted. That is, the parasympathetic nervous system is unable to return the body to a “normal” state.
Symptoms classically seen in a stressful situation include an increase in heart rate, blood pressure, sweating, metabolic rate and peristaltic activity. These symptoms can be alleviated by inducing the body to return to its normal resting state.
Thus, there is a need for a nutritional supplement to alleviate or at least reduce the stress and symptoms associated therewith.